15. Kyrie Irving: Improve Assist-to-Turnover Ratio

USA TODAY Sports

From what we've seen of Kyrie Irving's young NBA career, it's certain that he's a star in the making.

His creative ball-handling, shooting and passing skills are incredible for a 20-year-old who played less than a dozen college games. What's more impressive than his skills is his poise. Irving brings the right balance of calm reassurance and in-game intensity.

A priority item on his to-do list is improving his assist-to-turnover ratio, which is currently at a pedestrian 1.5.

Once the efficiency catches up with the talent, Irving and the Cavaliers will be taken seriously.

If he hasn't already, Griffin should break out some film of rival forward Love and analyze his footwork. Griffin is a willing learner, and this rebounding resolution could help Los Angeles in the spring.

13. Deron Williams: Make P.J. Carlesimo Look Smart

No matter what the truth is, people are always going to be suspicious of his role in the skipper's dismissal.

At this point, he might as well try to make the front office look smart in their decision and make former coach P.J. Carlesimo look even smarter. How? By stepping up his game and his shooting (Williams is shooting 30 percent from 3-PT).

If the D-Will and Carlesimo player-coach tandem can turn things around, the December woes and Johnson firing will become minor footnotes.

12. Tony Parker: Run a Balanced Attack in Playoffs

The San Antonio Spurs are a nearly-unstoppable juggernaut when they share the ball and present a balanced attack.

When they have five to seven substantial scorers in a given game, it's tough to keep up with them. However, when they get stuck in a rut and rely on their superstars too frequently, they're beatable.

Take the 2012 Western Conference finals, for example. When San Antonio spread the wealth among the role players, they torched Oklahoma City. But when they relied on two or three players to score 20-25 apiece, they lost.

Tony Parker is the crucial instrument to make the balanced attack happen in the postseason.

It's up to him to set up the offense, put pressure on the defense and get the ball distribution started. He must make a concerted effort to keep everyone involved throughout the pressure-packed games.

11. Dwyane Wade: Stay Fresh

He needs to take better care of himself now than ever before: He's getting older, but Miami's need for him in the playoffs hasn't diminished. From a stamina, explosiveness and injury-risk standpoint, he needs to be smart.

D-Wade's acrobatic, energetic style of play lends itself to a greater injury risk, which means the training staff must keep an extra-close eye on him.

Meanwhile, Spoelstra must regulate his minutes, giving him no more than 33 a night. That gives him more than a quarter's worth of game time out of the fray.

A fully-charged Wade would be a playoff blessing for LeBron James and company.

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook is a terrific competitor, a great teammate and a source of energy for his squad.

But his talent, hustle and athleticism often get negated by poor judgement, lost focus or mental lapses.

Westbrook's not a dumb player, he just lets his youth get the best of him every once in a while. Sometimes, he'll lose focus on defensive rotations, get caught up in the moment offensively or get derailed by the officiating.

If he can commit to focusing on every possession, the Thunder will reap the benefits.

5. Carmelo Anthony: Conquer the Heat

During the last couple months of the 2012 calendar year, Carmelo Anthony tore up the NBA.

Now that he and the Knicks have our attention, we're wondering whether he can do the same in May and June of 2013.

'Melo needs to take his championship quest one step at a time, but it's clear that the biggest and most important hurdle is upending the Miami Heat.

There are still plenty of skeptics, including myself, who wonder whether Anthony can actually lead the Knickerbockers past LeBron in a seven-game series. Anthony wants to answer the doubters in winning fashion this spring.

4. Kobe Bryant: Daily Commitment to Defensive Leadership

But he'll need to generate the best leadership performance of his career if he wants to take Los Angeles on a title run.

The Lakers are 25th in the NBA in points allowed, and until they can consistently stop their opponents' scoring sprees, playoff success is unattainable.

Since the roster has some weak links defensively, it's imperative that Bryant coordinates perfect positioning and execution in order to minimize the margin for error. If he really wants the 2013 crown bad enough, he'll get the most out of every teammate.

3. Chris Paul: Empower Teammates in Playoffs

The Los Angeles Clippers' 17-game winning streak served notice that they are an elite squad and in the NBA title conversation.

But can Chris Paul continue to orchestrate the Clippers' version of showtime into the postseason?

In the 2012 playoffs, Los Angeles' offense slowed down and reverted to Paul's isolations and many forced plays.

This year, the Clips have a chance to use the roster depth to their advantage in the postseason. It's up to Paul to make sure the role players stay involved and effective once the schedule turns to postseason play.

2. Kevin Durant: Killer Instinct Against the League's Best

In fact, I believe he's an exceptionally clutch player. I'm confident he has it in him; he just needs to execute.

Including the 2012 NBA Finals, the Oklahoma City Thunder have lost five straight games to the Miami Heat. That's not all Durant's fault, but there were some misplays or squandered opportunities on his part that led to a few of those losses.

Moving forward, he must make commitment to flawless defense in crunch time, as well as high-percentage shot opportunities. Durant must insist that he and the rest of his teammates, especially Russell Westbrook, take quality shots down the stretch.